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If you lose, your opponents don’t just put on baseball hats and T-shirts and dance around in an arena. They do it in your house. They don’t just cut down the nets. They cut down your nets.

Such was the fate of the No. 2 seed Limestone men as they sat in stunned silence during postgame activities Saturday night, occasionally dropping their heads so they didn’t have to watch fourth-seeded Belmont Abbey celebrate the 67-55 victory in the Conference Carolinas final in the Timken Center.

“It was painful,” Limestone’s Jamal McNeill said. “We worked so hard to get to where we were at. To see us go down like that was heartbreaking.”

Belmont Abbey, which allowed the third-most points per game in the league this season, held Limestone to 34 percent shooting and forced 15 turnovers while committing just seven.

“They’ve been one of the worst defensive teams in the league and they won the conference tournament championship with defense,” Limestone head coach Brandon Scott said. “They were tremendous defensively.”

Limestone had a dreadful 20-possession stretch that covered most of the first half. The Saints went 1-for-14 from the floor with six turnovers and scored four points. By the time they got in gear, it was 23-8. Belmont Abbey never let them get closer than six the rest of the way.

“They blitzed us early and I felt like we panicked a little bit,” Scott said. “It was like, ‘Oh, no. What are we going to do now?’ It just kind of snowballed after that. … We were trying to win the game on every shot. We weren’t taking our time. Sometimes that happens in life. You just want something so badly that you try too hard. I though that’s what happened.”

Belmont Abbey (22-9) earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II tournament. Limestone (21-8) will have to hope for an at-large bid when the field is announced tonight.

“On paper, we have a great chance,” Scott said. “But this thing isn’t done on paper. You never know until they call it. Should we be? Yes. But in a region that only gets eight, it all depends on how the other tournaments go.”

Limestone was ranked fifth in the Southeast Region in the latest poll, which came out before the conference tournament.

P.J. Foster and Joe Raga of Limestone made the all-tournament team. Foster scored 12 points and had three assists in the championship game. Raga had 13 rebounds and four points as he was limited to only four shots.

Tyshawn Good of Belmont Abbey was named tournament MVP, but he had a rather quiet night in the title game with nine points and two assists. Darryl Durham (eight points) made the all-tournament team, as did point guard Terrone Sheffey, who didn’t even play in the final because he suffered a hamstring injury in the semifinals. Chris Davis led the Crusaders with 18 points and nine rebounds

Belmont Abbey overcame the loss of Sheffey with Justin Kuhlman starting at the point and scoring 10 points and Ryan Conrad coming off the bench to add 12 (4-for-5 shooting) in just 14 minutes. Conrad scored 10 straight points for his team midway through the second half.

“Kuhlman is a good player. They love using him,” Scott said. “And Conrad was incredible.”

Limestone got closest when Foster and Charles Blue hit back-to-back 3-pointers to get the Saints within 38-32 with 16:45 remaining. But Blue, a power forward who is the Saints’ leading scorer this season, picked up his third charging foul just two possessions later and soon added a fourth and finished with a modest eight points, about half this season average.

“He’s such a beast. He’s a monster,” Scott said. “But he’s scared of getting charges because he’s 6-6, 230 in Division II and doesn’t always know how to control his own body. I thought that was huge. It spooked him big-time. But he kept trying.”

<p>GAFFNEY — There is a downside to being a higher seed and playing host to a basketball tournament championship game rather than having it at a neutral site.</p><p>If you lose, your opponents don't just put on baseball hats and T-shirts and dance around in an arena. They do it in your house. They don't just cut down the nets. They cut down your nets.</p><p>Such was the fate of the No. 2 seed Limestone men as they sat in stunned silence during postgame activities Saturday night, occasionally dropping their heads so they didn't have to watch fourth-seeded Belmont Abbey celebrate the 67-55 victory in the Conference Carolinas final in the Timken Center.</p><p>“It was painful,” Limestone's Jamal McNeill said. “We worked so hard to get to where we were at. To see us go down like that was heartbreaking.”</p><p>Belmont Abbey, which allowed the third-most points per game in the league this season, held Limestone to 34 percent shooting and forced 15 turnovers while committing just seven.</p><p>“They've been one of the worst defensive teams in the league and they won the conference tournament championship with defense,” Limestone head coach Brandon Scott said. “They were tremendous defensively.”</p><p>Limestone had a dreadful 20-possession stretch that covered most of the first half. The Saints went 1-for-14 from the floor with six turnovers and scored four points. By the time they got in gear, it was 23-8. Belmont Abbey never let them get closer than six the rest of the way.</p><p>“They blitzed us early and I felt like we panicked a little bit,” Scott said. “It was like, 'Oh, no. What are we going to do now?' It just kind of snowballed after that. … We were trying to win the game on every shot. We weren't taking our time. Sometimes that happens in life. You just want something so badly that you try too hard. I though that's what happened.”</p><p>Belmont Abbey (22-9) earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II tournament. Limestone (21-8) will have to hope for an at-large bid when the field is announced tonight. </p><p>“On paper, we have a great chance,” Scott said. “But this thing isn't done on paper. You never know until they call it. Should we be? Yes. But in a region that only gets eight, it all depends on how the other tournaments go.”</p><p>Limestone was ranked fifth in the Southeast Region in the latest poll, which came out before the conference tournament.</p><p>P.J. Foster and Joe Raga of Limestone made the all-tournament team. Foster scored 12 points and had three assists in the championship game. Raga had 13 rebounds and four points as he was limited to only four shots.</p><p>Tyshawn Good of Belmont Abbey was named tournament MVP, but he had a rather quiet night in the title game with nine points and two assists. Darryl Durham (eight points) made the all-tournament team, as did point guard Terrone Sheffey, who didn't even play in the final because he suffered a hamstring injury in the semifinals. Chris Davis led the Crusaders with 18 points and nine rebounds</p><p>Belmont Abbey overcame the loss of Sheffey with Justin Kuhlman starting at the point and scoring 10 points and Ryan Conrad coming off the bench to add 12 (4-for-5 shooting) in just 14 minutes. Conrad scored 10 straight points for his team midway through the second half.</p><p>“Kuhlman is a good player. They love using him,” Scott said. “And Conrad was incredible.”</p><p>Limestone got closest when Foster and Charles Blue hit back-to-back 3-pointers to get the Saints within 38-32 with 16:45 remaining. But Blue, a power forward who is the Saints' leading scorer this season, picked up his third charging foul just two possessions later and soon added a fourth and finished with a modest eight points, about half this season average.</p><p>“He's such a beast. He's a monster,” Scott said. “But he's scared of getting charges because he's 6-6, 230 in Division II and doesn't always know how to control his own body. I thought that was huge. It spooked him big-time. But he kept trying.”</p>